December 15 – Alibaba Announces Launch of Reverse Logistics Channel to Offer Return Service to Hong Kong Customers
Cainiao, the logistics arm of Alibaba Group, announced that 85% of goods purchased on Alibaba’s platforms, including Taobao and Tmall, delivered by Cainiao will be eligible for returns within seven days for their customers in Hong Kong. Plans to launch a direct reverse logistics channel with Mainland China and other markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Macau and Russia are also underway. From Post and Parcel

December 14 – Ikea to Open Its Largest Urban Format in Moscow
The world’s largest IKEA urban format will open in Moscow, located in the north-east of Russia’s capital. The new store will occupy 11,800 square meters and is the third city-format in Moscow. The new store will be grouped by zones, improving the customer shopping experience. From Retail & Leisure International  

December 14 – Amazon Launches Digital Payment Services for UAE
With Amazon Payment Services, businesses that use the service will be able to accept online payments using both global and local payment methods. The service will be available in the six Gulf markets plus Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. From Gulf News

December 14 – Klarna Launches New App in Spain
Klarna, a payment and shopping services specialist, launched a new app in Spain, designed to help users adapt to the digital environment, integrating the purchasing cycle from product discovery to final payment in one location. Users can browse, save brands and make purchases from one app. Article written in Spanish From Revista Info Retail

December 13 – Alibaba Opens New Freshippo Location 
Alibaba’s Freshippo opened its latest site last Friday in the Sunland Mall in the Waigaoqiao bonded area in the Pudong New Area. The new Freshippo store displays more than 1,500 products in eight categories, including alcohol, nutritional products, and mother and child care, allowing customers to place orders online. Products will be sent to designated address as soon as 30 minutes after the order is placed. From Shine

December 11 – Alibaba-Backed Lazada Secures E-Wallet Provider for Indonesian Customers
Ecommerce platform Lazada, backed by Alibaba, has secured e-wallet provider Ovo for the Indonesian market. Ovo is  the official payment partner of ecommerce giant, Grab. The partnership underscores Alibaba’s interest to integrate its services with Southeast Asian super app Grab. From KrAsia

December 11 – Walmart Canada Revamps Supply Chain Invoicing 
In an effort to reduce costs and errors associated with supply chain invoices, Walmart Canada is leveraging the DL Freight enterprise blockchain solution from Toronto-based DLT Labs to streamline its entire supply chain invoicing process. The rollout of this new program is part of the retailer’s $3.5 billion initiative to transform stores, digital operations and technology. From Chainstore Age

December 10 – Ahold Delhaize Albert Heijn to Open Unmanned Stores in the Netherlands
Ahold Delhaize’s Albert Heijn will open unmanned Albert Heijn to-go stores in at least 100 locations in the Netherlands in 2021. In the coming years, Albert Heijn wants to further roll out the concept in the Netherlands and Flanders.  Article Written in Dutch. From Gondola

December 10 – France’s Monoprix Replaces Delivery Vans with Bikes
For deliveries within Paris, France’s Monoprix has replaced 100 delivery vans with electric bikes for improved, faster delivery. The bikes can transport up to 250 kilograms of merchandise per load. Article written in French. From LSA

December 9 – Best Buy Canada Integrates POS with Omnichanel Customer Service
Best Buy Canada has stated that it will integrate a new POS platform, adopting a strategy that is focused on customer experience and will add significant incremental value to Best Buy’s in-store purchase offerings. From Chainstore Age

December 9 – UK’s Sainsburys Adds 12,00 Seasonal Staff
To serve as many online holiday sales as possible, Sainsbury’s has added 12,000 staff, almost doubling the number of staff added in 2019. The additional staff will join the retailer to help the fulfillment of online grocery orders, by picking orders in-store and driving orders to customers’ homes. From Sainsbury’s. From Sainsbury’s

December 9 – Amazon India Plans Efforts to Help Businesses Across the Country
Amazon India pledged to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in 10 states across India, working with the Ministry of MSME.  The program will avail training, workshops, masterclasses and enable MSMEs to sell online. From Amazon

December 9 – PayPal Launches QR Code Payments in the UK
PayPal is launching QR code payments in iZettle’s Point of Sale app, allowing UK small businesses to accept touch-free transactions from customers. The roll-out marks the first time UK merchants can accept PayPal QR code payments in-store. 
From Retail Technology Information Hub

December 9 – Walmart’s Investments in Omnichannel Solutions Aids in Global Markets
By investing in and building innovative distribution center formats to deliver products faster, launching shopping apps in new languages to enable more people to access them and investing in serving customers in their global markets, Walmart has streamlined solutions for customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. From Walmart

December 9 – Amazon Brazil Launches Fulfillment by Amazon 
Amazon Brazil has introduced the global Fulfillment by Amazon, allowing for the inclusion of products from partners in the Amazon Distribution Centers. The program allows expansion of product selection to automatically receive the Amazon Prime seal, which improves sales and offers free shipping to Prime customers.  Article written in Portuguese. From Amazon

December 8 – Carrefour Targets Young Talent for 2021 New Hires 
France’s Carrefour plans to hire 15,000 young employees – focusing on those under 25 – in 2021.  The goal is to help those facing difficult job searches due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  This will represent 50% more young hires than Carrefour typically hires in a year. From Reuters

December 7 – Woolworths Australia Opens New Fulfillment Center 
Woolworths Australia has opened a new 15,000 square meter online fulfillment center in to meet the increased shopping demand. The new center is Woolworths’ largest online hub in Australia and will allow access to orders of a range of 20,000 products. From Woolworths

December 2 – India’s Tata Group Close to Buying Majority Stake in BigBasket
Tata Group, the USD 113 billion conglomerate is close to finalizing a deal to buy 80% stake in BigBasket, an e-grocery retailer. After five months of negotiations, Tata Group is expected to buy this share of BigBasket for USD 1.3 billion. From KrAsia